


129 Ways to Fall In Love With Your Best Friend

by Theyna_Shipper



Series: Star Wars One-Shots [29]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 129 ways to get a husband, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Oneshot, Rey ain't taking none of your sexism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26036428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theyna_Shipper/pseuds/Theyna_Shipper
Summary: When Rey announces her frustration at being single, Ben suggests a list of ways to find a husband from 1958. Spending time finding Rey's soulmate together, they fail to realize that the answer might be a lot simpler than it seems.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Star Wars One-Shots [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637683
Comments: 17
Kudos: 121





	129 Ways to Fall In Love With Your Best Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I understand there's a Reylo Prompt circulating for this exact story right now, but I actually started this story before that prompt was tweeted- I have proof! Either way, I hope you enjoy this ficlet I wrote.

“Remind me where Rose is?” Ben asks as he sets the table for dinner.

“Date with Jessika, remember?” Rey reminds him. 

“Finn’s out with Poe,” he continues. 

“And Phasma is with Tishra. All happily paired off,” Rey says with bitterness in her voice. 

Ben, having been her roommate for years, is finely tuned to the emotions in her voice. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s just-” Rey slams a bowl of pasta salad down on the table. “I’m tired of being alone.”

“You’re not alone,” Ben reminds her gently. They’re sitting her together, eating dinner, in the house they share with three others. 

“Tired of being single,” she remedies. “I’m ready to get married, start a family, all that. All my friends are in relationships and I’m still-” she shrugs. “Waiting. How do people meet people?” She sighs in frustration.

“Actually,” Ben says with a smirk that seems dangerous, “I think I have a suggestion for you.” 

“I swear to God, if it’s speed dating, or Tinder, or something- _none_ of those worked.” 

“It’s not,” he promised. 

Rey crosses her arms. “What is it, then?” 

He pulls up something on his phone. “ _129 ways to get a husband, according to a 1958 magazine._ ”

Rey snorts. “That sounds like it will be horrifyingly sexist.”

“Probably,” Ben agrees with a smirk. “But they could be funny to try. And maybe you’ll run into someone while trying them. Years later, you’ll look back on this, and laugh, and thank me for this great idea.” 

Rey snorts. “Likely.” She takes the phone. “ _Where to meet him- Get a dog and walk it._ That’s actually not a bad idea.”

“There you, go,” Ben replies. “Take DeeTwo for a walk tomorrow. Meet you future husband.”

* * *

_**1\. Get A Dog And Walk It**_

“Oh, he’s cute, what’s his name?” Rey chirps at the Pomeranian, while he and DeeTwo sniff each other. 

“Her name is Jenny,” the man walking her replies. “Yours?”

“I’m Rey,” she replies, smiling. 

“I meant the dog.”

“Oh.” Rey blushes. “This is DeeTwo.”

“DeeTwo, you are adorable,” he announces. “I’m Joel, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you.” Rey smiles. “You’ve had BeeBee for a long time?”

“Yeah, me and my husband got him right when we got married.”

_He’s married? No thank you!_ “That’s so sweet!” 

“Thanks.” Joel gathers BeeBee’s leash. “We should really be going, it was great to meet you two!”

“You too!” Rey echoes with a plastered on smile. 

“Well?” Ben asks once Joel’s gone.

“Married,” Rey grumbles. “What’s #2?”

* * *

**_2\. Have Your Car Break Down In Strategic Locations_**

“That’s stupid. And sexist. And wasteful.”

“I didn’t say we had to do all of them,” Ben replies. 

“Even if I were to wait ‘til I had car trouble organically, what am I supposed to do?” Rey continues. “Pretend I’m not an entire mechanic?”

“You could pretend you’re only part of a mechanic,” he suggests. 

Rey rolls her eyes. 

“Could you turn it on its head? Help men who have car trouble?”

_”I. Am. A. Mechanic._ That is literally my job. Have I met a husband yet? No!” Rey exclaims in frustration. “Check that one off, what’s next?”

* * *

_**3\. Attend Night School. Take Courses Men Like** _

“I don’t have time for a whole semester in Night School,” Rey begins.

Ben nods. “But one of the local community colleges is doing a sampler week. You don’t even have to be enrolled.”

“OK,” Rey says. “What sort of courses do men like?” 

“Ones where they can meet women?” Ben suggests with a smirk. 

“ _Ben._ Are you going to help me meet my soulmate or not?” Rey says angrily. “How about intro to Mandarin?” 

-

Introduction to Mandarin is filled with youngish businessmen, looking to add a language to their repertoire considering the future of international business. Which Rey quickly realizes is something she is not remotely interested in, and these are _certainly_ not the sort of conversations she’d want to have with a husband. 

“Maybe you should have taken beginning salsa dancing,” Ben suggests, trying to cheer her up. “Or- advanced bird anatomy.”

Rey snorts. “‘It’s good to meet you, eligible bachelor! I didn’t know the scientific name for a beak before today, did you?’ Scintillating.” 

“Maybe you shouldn’t go to school if you don’t want to have intellectual conversations,” Ben teases. 

“I don’t want to have boring conversations,” Rey corrects. “But this ship is sailed. Number four?” 

_**4\. Join A Hiking Club**_

“Husband or no, this is actually a good idea,” Rey says, tying on her hiking boots. “There’s a lot of beautiful trails out here and I don’t get out enough.”

“Keep your eye on the prize, Niima. You see anything you like?”

Rey shrugs. “I’m waiting to see how they are on the trail. I want a husband who’s here to hike.” 

“You’re not here to hike, though,” he points out. “You’re here to meet men.”

“I’m here to meet men _and_ hike, thank you,” Rey huffs. 

“Hm.”

Halfway through the hike, however, Rey notices it’s mostly middle aged country club women, one elderly couple, and one teenager taking photos of the wildlife on the trail. Maybe hiking clubs were more masculine in the fifties. Some of the women are crowding and flirting with Ben, and generally making him uncomfortable, so she decides to swoop in. 

“Hey babe! Nice hike, huh?” She squeezes his hand. _Just go with it._

“Um, yeah.” The women begin to shy away from Ben. _”What are you doing? I thought you wanted to get a husband!”_ he hisses.

_”Yes, but you don’t want married women to flirt with you!”_

“You two are so cute,” the old woman pipes up. “I saw it in your eyes as soon as we got on the trail.”

“Uh, thanks,” Rey squeaks.

* * *

_**5\. Look in the census reports for places with the most single men. Nevada has 125 males for every 100 females.** _

“Is this even relevant anymore?”

Ben shrugs. “Probably not. And are you willing to move just to meet single men?”

“Nope,” Rey says, popping the p. “Especially not to Nevada. I’m done with deserts.”

“Well,” Ben says hesitantly. “I’m not sure you’ll like six any better.”

* * *

**_6\. Scan the Obituaries for Eligible Widowers_ **

Rey spewed her coffee the first time she heard this. How absolutely _morbid._

“And they’d be, like, eighty! Or grieving. Likely both. Who thought this was a good idea?”

“I think the wife-mourning period was shorter back then,” Ben replies. “God, we’ve only made it to number six and we’ve already rejected three of them.”

“Wimping out, Solo? I thought you wanted to find me a husband!”

“Of course I want you to be happy,” he replies, though Rey notices that’s not quite the question she was asking. “But I don’t think you’ll find it with this eighty-three-year-old widower with three grandkids.”

* * *

_**Take Up Golf And Go To Different Golf Courses** _

“Wow, you are really bad at this.”

Rey glares. “Care to show me how it’s done?”

Ben shakes his head. “I’ll leave that to your future husband. Maybe it’s that guy over there.”

“Maybe,” Rey agrees, and marches up to the man. “Excuse me, do you know how late the course is open?” she says with her most charming smile. 

The man doesn’t look up from his tee. “Closes at nine.”

“Six hours to find a man,” Rey grumbles. “Sounds like a reality show.”

“Perhaps you’d like to try a few holes together? I’ve been looking for someone to practice with.”

_Maybe today is my lucky day!_ “I’d love to.”

The man is much better than her, but friendly and willing to help. “Maybe we can do this again?” Rey suggests. “I had a good time!”

He smiles sadly. “I’m moving away next month. This was my last time here before I pack up and go. Can I refer you to a coach?”

“Oh,” Rey says, disheveled. “No, um- thanks for showing me around. Bye.”

* * *

_**9\. Sit On A Park Bench And Feed The Pigeons** _

“I’m tired of messing around,” Rey announces. “We’re going through this list, and picking the ones that have _real_ potential. Nothing dated or sexist, nothing with a huge investment of time. I’m ready to meet my husband and I’m ready to meet him now.”

Ben lies on the couch while Rey paces back and forth. “That would rule out- vacations, Europe, switching jobs- how do you feel about sitting on a park bench and feeding the pigeons?”

-

“Bread is actually bad for birds,” the man sitting next to her explains. “Empty calories. It stunts their growth.”

“Oh,” Rey says guiltily. “What would you feed them?” 

“Lettuce. Grapes. Seeds. Depends on the bird.”

“I guess I’ll bring lettuce next time,” she says, looking down at the ducks (she couldn’t find pigeons). “Wouldn’t want to hurt these cuties.”

“Maybe we can feed them together next time?”

* * *

_**34\. Wear a Band-Aid. People always ask what happened.** _

“BEN! I MET SOMEONE!” Rey shrieks as she bursts into their house. “HisnamesJameshetoldmewhattofeedduckswehaveadateintheparknextweekend,” she gasps out. 

“Slow down. You mean I’ve been crossing out which of these are sexist and you don’t even need them?” 

“I appreciate it,” she promises, ruffling his hair. “And we can definitely still use these _how to let him know you’re there_. Which ones haven’t you ruled out?”

“Well- if you want to _forget every discretion_ , you can call him once in a while. Or carry a hatbox. Or wear a band-aid.”

“Already got that!” She holds up her finger, which she cut at the garage. “Wish me luck on my date.”

* * *

_**40\. Stand in a corner and cry softly. Chances are good that he’ll come over to find out what’s wrong.** _

Ben doesn’t expect to see Rey sitting on the park bench with her head in her hands when he goes to pick her up. He’d crossed out number forty as sexist, and he can’t imagine Rey would want to try it. Something must really be wrong.

“Hey. What’s up?” Ben asks gently.

“Nothing,” Rey says dully. “It’s just- he said he thought I was being intense and-” Rey breaks down into sobs. “I’m so sick of being alone!”

“Hey. It’s OK.” Ben bends down to hug her. “You’re not alone.” 

Rey sniffles into his jacket. “Can we go home?”

“Yes, let’s go home.”

* * *

Back at their house, Ben starts reading ridiculous items off the list to cheer Rey up.

“‘Go back to your hometown for a visit – the wild kid next door may have become a very eligible bachelor while you were away.’” 

Rey laughs. “ _You_ were the wild kid next door when I was growing up.”

Ben shakes his head. “I was a handful, wasn’t I?”

“‘When you’re with him, order your steak rare.’ I mean, you should always order your steak rare.” 

He nods in agreement. “‘European women use their eyes to good advantage. Practice in front of a mirror.’”

“I _am_ European women!” she moans. “‘Double date with a gay, happily married couple.’ Do you think I can ask Finn and Poe to hurry up and get hitched?”

“I think they meant ‘gay’ as in ‘cheerful’.”

“They’re cheerful,” Rey points out. 

He shrugs. “‘If he’s rich, tell him you like his money. The honesty will intrigue him!’”

“I might actually try this one,” Rey says. 

“Tell him you like his money?”

Rey rolls her eyes. “No. ‘Carry a camera and ask strange, handsome men if they would mind snapping your picture.’ I do need a new Instagram profile.”

* * *

**_111\. Carry a camera and ask strange, handsome men if they would mind snapping your picture._ **

“Any luck?”

Rey shakes her head. “I’ve got some nice photos of me, though.”

“So it’s not a total loss.”

“Yeah. I guess I could always make and sell toupées- bald men are easy catches! You know, I’ve always wondered if that was real,” Rey says, pointing at Ben’s hair. “It seems too good to be true.” 

“It’s real,” Ben promises, but not before Rey sinks her hands into it. “HEY!”

“Sorry.” She does not look apologetic. “Maybe I should advertise for the male co-owner of a boat.”

“I’d watch a couple seasons of that TV show,” Ben laughs. 

“Hm. But I wouldn’t marry the man I owned the boat with. At the end I’d probably realize that my best friend was in love with me the whole time.”

Ben leans close. “Maybe your best friend _has_ been in love with you the whole time.” 

Heat rises in her cheeks. “Ben, I don’t want to joke-”

“I’m not joking.” 

Next thing she knows, Ben is kissing her gently, and she’s kissing him back, and her mind is spinning.

Ben pulls away slowly. “Well?”

“I, um-” Rey smiles sheepishly. “I can’t marry you if you have too many loose buttons.”

Ben smiles back. “I don’t think you’re supposed to tell me your intent is marriage. 82.”

“I’m supposed to stick to my moral standards,” she whispers, then crashes her lips against his.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment with feedback or prompts, and check out my profile for more Reylo feels!


End file.
